Identity and Ethnicity in Okinawa

By: Sam Crooks

The UMJ Volume 5.1

  I think Okinawa would be a great place for people interested in the ways in which the government attempts to promote ideas of Japanese “identity” and “ethnicity”. Basically, what I find fascinating about Okinawa is not the “culture”, the traditional arts or its history. Neither is it the hot political issues of the US bases and heliports, which will inevitably continue ad infinitum until the printing presses breakdown. Rather, it is the way that Okinawa‘s so called “traditional culture” is used to convince people that they are uniquely Okinawan and therefore different to, mainland Japanese.

I‘m sure most readers will be acquainted with Okinawan history and “culture” (how I hate that word!). Bookshops here are overflowing with magazines, guides and all kinds of books (some Nihonjinron-esque, others more highbrow) which sing the praises of things Okinawan, all in time for the Summit. These might be on sale on the mainland too. In the same way as large bookshops on the mainland have sections devoted to their own particular prefecture / area, Okinawan bookstores are bursting with Okinawajin-ron volumes.

  Therein you will discover the selective parts of Okinawan history that are so attractive to the powers that be here, in addition to I dare say not a few Okinawans themselves. The splendid reigns of the first Ryukyu Kings, the clever, selective cultural borrowing from both China and Japan and the cultural diversity that existed due to unprecedented international exchange through trade with South East Asia. Then of course you have the modern era. The Satsuma Han somehow manages to grab control of Okinawa, before Okinawa was very-kindly-let‘s-not-ask-any-questions made into a colony by Imperial Japan (or as we say here, became a part of Japan, rather like osmosis). Then nothing happens for 50 years or so until the evil US decides for absolutely no reason to destroy the entire Okinawan mainland, despite the best efforts of the Imperial troops to save them. Then they enter the dark ages when the evil US corrupts everything until Japan saves them again in 1979.

  Sarcasm aside, as you can probably imagine, Japan repressed all things non-Yamato in Okinawa (including use of the Okinawan “dialect”) until 1945. This general tendency continued well into the US occupation. So until relatively recently, feeling positive about being an “Okinawan” was officially frowned upon. Now promoting Okinawan “culture” is in vogue, big time. This vogue has come a bit late though. What most Okinawans realise (but won‘t express publicly) is that although they now have the freedom to be proud of their “heritage”, everything has been so thoroughly Japanised that they have nothing of substance left to wax lyrical about. This state of affairs reminds me of those people / places on the mainland who talk endlessly of Japan‘s long history, unique culture, unique traditions etc..ad nauseum, doing so while of course the reality is that none of it exists and never really did exist anyway. The Okinawan predicament and their ethnic identity complex is completely Japanese, because they themselves are completely Japanese.

  Yes, being Okinawan and proud is big, and the prefectural government, as well as the central government is throwing lots of money into the idea. Let my describe a little the prefectural “internationalisation” drive. Like all prefectures and local authorities across Japan, Okinawa has received buckets of money to promote the dubious aims of Kokusaika, which cynics like me refer to as Kokusuika, or Japanisation. In my mind, the ethnocentric aspects of the inappropriately named “internationisation” efforts in Japan are nowhere more apparent than in Okinawa.

  So what is it all about? As you may know, many Okinawans emigrated to Hawaii, North and South America and other destinations during the last century, to escape poverty and starvation. The prefecturally-sponsored “internationalisation” programmes seek to bring all this people together on the basis of their shared blood. There is the Okinawa Kenjinkai, a worldwide umbrella organisation which unites people together on the basis of their genotype. There are also various “International Cooperation” programmes which bring people from “developing” countries to learn skills (anything from cooking to agriculture) in Japan. The catch is that they must be of Okinawan descent. Hence the international aspect(?!)

  Many other “international” events are organised annually, the aims of which are twofold: to forge links between Okinawa and people of Okinawan ancestry abroad and / or teach people of non-Okinawan “blood” (including Japanese – Okinawans often consider themselves both) about Okinawa‘s “traditional culture and heritage”. The teaching of Okinawan “culture” to non-Okinawans is almost identical to the teaching of “Japanese” culture by “international programs” on the mainland to unwitting foreigners. I think that in Okinawa it is done more obsessively and with more religious zeal, because their cultural complex is greater.

  The Kenjinkai is remarkable in its success in disseminating worldwide Japanese / Okinawan essentialist ideas about racial values. Most members of the overseas Kenjinkai can hardly manage a word of Japanese / Okinawan dialect and yet feel themselves to be in some way Okinawan. For example I meet people from Hawaii who describe themselves as Okinawan-Japanese-Hawaiin-Americans or people from Peru who consider themselves Okinawan-Peruvian-Japanese-Latin Americans. Not only does the Kenjinkai encourage this kind of thinking, it also encourages people to consider themselves as “privileged” to be Okinawan. I have heard on several occasions people of Okinawan descent say that they feel sorry for people who do not have two or more ethnicities like themselves because they are less mature. In fact such statements appear in some official Kenjinkai – related literature.

“What it means to be Okinawan” comprises various symbols and rituals that are interpreted as being essentially “Okinawan”. These include various words and phrases in the now almost-obsolete Okinawan dialect, an Okinawan name, various Okinawan dances and music and Okinawan food. There are also several definitions of the Okinawan character (Okinawans are not punctual, but happy, lively and more honest than (all) mainlanders). Perhaps the most interesting symbolic, identifying marker that was created is the Kachashi dance. Apparently this used to be a dance form in a certain Ryukyuan dance, but is now basically a waving of the hands in the air with no apparent rhythm / rules. At the end of many “cultural” events put on for the benefit of people of Okinawan descent or Okinawans themselves, there is always a Kachashi, performed in order to create some kind of artificial bond between the group.

I must stress that all the money that comes from the central government to finance “internationalisation” is spent on this sort of thing. This kind of thinking (internationalisation = the promotion of Japanese interests abroad) is actual policy here. What is ironic is that it is Okinawa, the prefecture that most vocally insists that it is different to mainland Japan, that is pursuing this most Japanese policy so doggedly.

In fact the idea of twinning the two ethnicities (Okinawan, Japanese) together is widely practiced. Okinawans I have met tend to stress their Japanese aspects sometimes (studious, industrious, harmonious) and their Okinawan ones (easy-going, talkative, positive) when it suits them. It seems that the recent rise in the social capital involved in simply being Uchinaanchu (Okinawan) has accelerated this trend.

In my experience the Okinawan Japanese are really no different from the Kansai, Kanto, Hokkaido or Japanese. There are many myths: Okinawans are more international because of the US military presence, Okinawans are lazier, Okinawans value social harmony less, Okinawans are all anti-US bases. The supposed laziness may be caused by the relatively high unemployment, lack of large industrial areas and the summer heat. I rarely hear Okinawans grumble about anything, let alone the bases. Okinawan dialect is virtually dead and the standard Japanese is a lot more easy to understand than in say, Kansai or Kyushu.

The school system here is the same, as is the local bureaucracy, the (lack of) town planning, the shops, the building standards, the playgrounds etc. I find it hard to see anything apart from the sand and coral (which is fast disappearing) which is noticeably different from the mainland. Okinawan high school kids are for example national champions in baseball and marching band competitions, both activities known for the so-called traditional Japanese training methods involved. Upon being asked, I have told people that I find Okinawa quite similar to any other semi-urban area in Japan and that Osaka / Kobe are a lot less “Japanese” than Okinawa. Obviously this isn‘t what they want to hear. It is almost a cardinal sin here to say that you don‘t enjoy eisa (“traditional” Okinawan dance) or that Okinawan music isn‘t “unique”in some way. I bear the scars to prove it.

So what on earth is my point? Well, merely to describe a little what I see as Okinawa‘s ethnic identity complex. If you see the summit on the TV, don‘t believe the hype. Try to see through all the tacky souvenirs, the exotic dresses and speeches about Okinawan “culture”. Okinawa may be miles away from Tokyo, but Tokyo‘s tendrils reach far and wide. Okinawa is still Japan. It may try to persuade everyone that it is different and exotic, but the way in which this is done is completely Japanese, through and through.

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